The new Acoustic Energy 100 Series isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a completely new design from the ground up (it says here). First in line for an upgrade was the main drive unit; the 4” paper cone used for over a decade has been replaced with a 5” driver with a 4 layer voice coil with flux rings to improve dynamics, headroom and clarity. But this created a new problem of size and keeping those compact dimensions.
Acoustic Energy came to the conclusion that more internal volume was needed to achieve maximum benefit from the new driver. After much calculation and experimentation, the decision was made to move to HDF (high density fibreboard) which allows for thinner cabinet walls with no loss in acoustic performance, the mass and stiffness of the 15mm HDF being the same as the previous 18mm MDF. The result of this move is a small 15% increase in cabinet size but a 30% increase in internal volume gained over the previous 100 Series speakers.
A new 25mm soft-dome tweeter and waveguide has been developed to match the new bass driver, taking a leaf out of the 500 Series book and pushing them as close together as physically possible thanks to a cutaway trim. Aesthetically cabinet veneer finishes have also been improved along with a dedicated flared trim on the bass port and higher-grade binding posts.
The new 100 Series will retail from £229 to £599 and comprises the AE1002 bookshelf, AE1092 floorstander, AE1072 centre and AE1082 active subwoofer, with a new AE1202 flagship floor-stander following in the spring. All speakers are available in Black and Walnut vinyl veneer with the AE1002 also available in White.